March 11, 2010

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. -- The Miami RedHawks will be well represented next week at the CCHA Awards Banquet with finalists for four of the six annual awards, the league office announced today. The list of finalists includes Cody Reichard for RBC Player of the Year and Enrico Blasi for Coach of the Year.

Tommy Wingels is a contender for Best Defensive Forward, while Will Weber is on the list for the Best Defensive Defenseman Award.

RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Year finalists include Reichard, Northern Michigan junior defenseman Erik Gustafsson and Ohio State sophomore forward Zac Dalpe. Reichard finished the regular season on top of the CCHA in goals-against average (1.23), winning percentage (.941) and save percentage (.950). The Celina, Ohio, native also led the league in shutouts with five, a new single-season record for Miami. Gustafsson played in all 28 conference games and recorded 22 points to lead all CCHA defensemen in scoring. The Kvissleby, Sweden, native was second in the CCHA in assists (21) and tied for third in power-play points (13). Dalpe tied for first in goal scoring (17) and was the runner-up for the scoring title with 34 points. The Carolina Hurricanes' draft pick tied for third in power-play points (13), tied for fourth in power-play goals (6) and tied for eighth in plus/minus (+13).

In addition to Blasi, Bob Daniels of Ferris State and Michigan State's Rick Comley are finalists for Coach of the Year. Daniels led the Bulldogs to a third-place finish and a first-round playoff bye after finishing in ninth place in 2008-09. Blasi's RedHawks won the CCHA regular-season championship, spent most of the season atop the national polls and had a 23-game conference unbeaten streak. Comley led the Spartans to a second-place finish and a first-round playoff bye after finishing tied for tenth in 2008-09.

Three skaters were named finalists for CCM Rookie of the Year honors in Alaska's Andy Taranto, Jordan Samuels-Thomas of Bowling Green and Michigan's Chris Brown. Taranto, a native of Chicago, claimed the rookie scoring title by 10 points and finished fifth in overall scoring with 31 points. He was also named the HCA National Rookie of the Month twice, CCM/CCHA Rookie of the Month twice and CCM/CCHA Rookie of the Week three times. Samuels-Thomas, an Atlanta Thrashers' draft pick, was third in freshmen scoring and was named CCM/CCHA Rookie of the Week on Nov. 16. Brown, a draft pick of the Phoenix Coyotes, tied for the league lead in power-play goals (7) and finished second in freshmen scoring behind Taranto. He was also named CCM/CCHA Rookie of the Week on Nov. 2.

Junior Zach Redmond of Ferris State, senior Eddie DelGrosso of Nebraska-Omaha and Northern Michigan junior Erik Gustafsson are the finalists for Best Offensive Defenseman. Redmond was third in defensemen scoring with 19 points and was named Defenseman of the Week on three occasions. DelGrosso finished second in defensemen scoring with 20 points and was second among defensemen in points per game at 0.71. Gustafsson led CCHA defensemen with 22 points and his 21 assists were second among all players and first among rearguards.

The finalists for the Best Defensive Defenseman, Weber, Ferris State senior Matt Case and Northern Michigan junior Erik Gustafsson, each appeared in all 28 conference games for their respective teams. Case contributed with four goals and 12 assists while helping the Bulldogs finish third in team defense and penalty killing. Weber, a Columbus NHL draft pick, placed seventh in the league in plus/minus at +14 for a RedHawks team that had the best defensive and penalty-kill numbers in the conference. Gustafsson captained the Wildcats to an 8-3-3-3 conference record in the second half of the season.

CCHA Best Defensive Forward nominees include Wingels, Ferris State senior Cody Chupp and Michigan junior Matt Rust. Chupp registered 20 points and was +7 in 23 CCHA contests. Wingels, a San Jose NHL draft pick, wound up tied for 10th with a rating of +12 and helped Miami finish with the best team defense and penalty kill in the conference. Rust, whose NHL rights are held by the Columbus Blue Jackets, finished with a 7-16-23 scoring line and a +7 rating on a Wolverine team that had the second-best penalty-killing unit.

The CCHA Awards kick off CCHA Championship Weekend on Thursday, March 18. The banquet, an Academy Awards-style event with music videos and video highlights, is held at historic Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit, across from Comerica Park. The banquet begins with a social hour presented by the RBC Financial Group at 6:30 p.m. The Awards Program starts at 7:30 p.m. Banquet tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling the CCHA at (248) 888-0600 or at the door the day of the event.

The finalists for the six specialty awards are:

RBC PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Cody Reichard, Miami
Erik Gustafsson, Northern Michigan
Zac Dalpe, Ohio State

COACH OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Bob Daniels, Ferris State
Enrico Blasi, Miami
Rick Comley, Michigan State

CCM ROOKIE OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Andy Taranto, Alaska
Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Bowling Green
Chris Brown, Michigan

BEST OFFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN FINALISTS
Zach Redmond, Ferris State
Eddie DelGrosso, Nebraska-Omaha
Erik Gustafsson, Northern Michigan

BEST DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN FINALISTS
Matt Case, Ferris State
Will Weber, Miami
Erik Gustafsson, Northern Michigan

BEST DEFENSIVE FORWARD FINALISTS
Cody Chupp, Ferris State
Tommy Wingels, Miami
Matt Rust, Michigan

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